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In this new series, National Achievers Congress Flashback, we feature speakers who we have had the honor of hosting over the past 20 plus years. This article was adapted from “Ziglar on Selling” by Zig Ziglar. Zig Ziglar was known as America’s Motivator. He authored 32 books and produced numerous training programs and will always be remembered for his inspirational messages and the lives he impacted all over the globe. Sales Discipline Discipline yourself to do the things you need to do when you need to do them, and the day will come when you will be able to do the things you want to do when you want to do them! The discipline we all need is attainable. Specifically, if you and I can look at the benefits for starting our day at the proper time—on a regular basis—we will be inclined to do what is best. Sales giant Walter Hailey said research proves that 70 percent of all sales are made between 7:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m., 20 percent between 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m., and 10 percent after 4:00 p.m. When people are energetic and just getting their day started, they’re obviously in a more optimistic and responsive frame of mind. In addition, these sales result from the fact that salespeople are also more excited and motivated about what they are doing. Discipline and organization make a difference in sales. If you’re going to make it big, the odds are good that you’ve got to make it early. The obvious exception to this would be in direct sales businesses where calls are made in the evenings, but even people in traditional sales positions are finding the daylight hours to be most productive. Don’t Kid Yourself Because salespeople have so much freedom and independence in the world of selling, they do not always exercise good judgment or sound integrity as they go about the business of selling. They don’t really get to work or to the presentation on time; they don’t really make all of the calls they claim to make; they don’t really follow through as they should; they don’t really work the number of hours they put down on their reports. In the process they can fool their managers or employers. It is an absolute impossibility for a manager to know every thought, every action, and every moment that the individual salesperson invests in the sales process. Yes, you can fool your manager and “get by” with some of that inactivity, but who are you really hurting? Who are you really kidding? What does it do to your bottom line? According to Terrence Patton, a crisis sales training consultant from Roanoke, Virginia, 20 percent of sales calls reported never take place, and over 15 percent of a salesperson’s calls involve absolutely no pre-call planning. Tragic. Foolish. And expensive—for the salesperson, the family, and the company. When Do You Do What? Figures vary enormously as to where the typical salesperson spends time. Many have calculated that less than two hours of the working day are actually spent in the sales process. The rest of the time is spent going from prospect to prospect, waiting in offices, looking for parking spaces, taking care of administrative details, and handling service calls and a host of other things. Obviously, some of these are critical and must be done on a regular basis. The question the sales professional must ask is this: Can I more effectively—or equally effectively—handle this assignment during non-selling hours? I particularly think of answering emails that are not time sensitive, filling out reports, coping with administrative details, obtaining credit reports, and taking care of personal business (seeing the dentist, buying clothing, visiting friends, paying bills, etc.). When the car is in the shop, do you deliberately create a number of administrative tasks to do during that day so it won’t be wasted, or do you rent a car and get on with the sales process, taking care of the administrative details during the non-selling hours? This comes under the heading of organization (which is frequently missing in “average” producers). Does it surprise you to learn that real sales professionals, with no more time than average performers, will spend twice as many hours in front of prospects as average producers do? They make sales not because of exceptional sales ability but because they have prioritized what’s important in what they do on a daily basis. Recipe for Sales Success Generally speaking, the high-producing sales professional does work harder than the average producer. The reality is, simply outworking your competition will put you in the upper echelons of selling. I’m not talking about working 80- and 90-hour weeks. One extra hour per day in high-payoff activity will allow you to outdistance most of the field and surprise yourself in terms of people helped and dollars earned. Next, add integrity, discipline, and organization to the recipe, and you catapult very quickly into the top 10 percent of all salespeople. Throw in a constant quest for knowledge and learning about how to become “even better” as a professional salesperson while becoming adept at the new procedures and latest industry trends, and you will move into the upper five percent. I’m really talking about using all of your resources—physical, mental, and spiritual—and taking care of all facets of your life. We have had the pleasure over the years to host the world’s best speakers and coaches. Next year promises to be no different. Join Nick Vujicic at the National Achievers Congress 2014 and be inspired to live your life without limits. Success Resources: http://www.srpl.net/
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